The Fairy Wife and Her Daughter
by dullhouse
Summary: AU: Belle discovers a child cursed by the Evil Queen. Mysteries of the child's past reveal new challenges that lay ahead for Belle and Rumpelstiltskin.
1. Worth Finding

**I do not own OUAT nor any of its characters. I also do not own the original fairy tales that have sparked my imigination. Some of the characters in my story have already appeared in the show, but as this is an Alternative Universe story, my characters will lack some cannon consistency with the show. I apologize in advance for this, as I thought of this story before some of the characters appeared in their respective seasons.**

**Thank you to cynicsquest, my mother and friend, for betaing for me. I love you very much.**

Chapter One: **Worth Finding**

Belle had given up retracing her steps months ago. Since being released from the curse that had kept her imprisoned in Regina's underground cell, Belle had been searching for her mother's locket. It was the only thing she had left of her. She thought it had been around her neck when she had escaped her prison, but she hadn't seen it since she'd been free. She had searched Rumpelstiltskin's house and pawn shop repeatedly. She had even visited her estranged father, Maurice, in hopes of finding her only treasure.

The locket in and of itself wasn't anything special. The gold held no real value, and it wasn't particularly pretty. It was oval and small flowers were engraved on its shell. The chain was just long enough to rest on her collar bone. But inside was a picture of a young woman with soft rounded cheeks, soft dark hair loose in ringlets about her shoulders, and a smile that was full of life. It had been taken when her parents were courting.

Belle decided her mother's locket must still be in the cell Regina had imprisoned her in for the last twenty-eight years. She didn't like the idea of returning there, but decided the locket was worth it. She waited for her husband, Daniel Gold, to leave for his pawn shop before crossing town to her destination. Mr. Gold was an intimidating man to most, but not to Belle. She still saw him as Rumpelstiltskin, a man who had made a series of bad decisions but was still worth saving. She knew better than to think she was his savior, but she loved him and had decided to be an example to him.

Belle descended the dark set of stairs leading to the hospital basement. In the aftermath of the curse, the now unused rooms were coated in a thick layer of dust which stirred with each step she took into the depths of the former mental ward. It didn't help that the knots in her belly were growing as she pushed forward, slowly taking in the scene before her. The absence of color was unsettling. The front desk was still in pristine order, not a paper or even a paper clip was out of place. The door to her cell had been shut after her escape. She cautiously opened it. Out of instinct she winced when it creaked. "No one is coming for you, Belle. Regina can't harm you. Rumpel won't let that happen." She entered her old room and surveyed its contents: a bed with a well used mattress and sheets, a sink with a single bar of soap collecting dust, and a latrine. "So much to search through," she thought. Getting down on her hands and knees, she looked all around the floor first. Next, she lifted the sheets from the mattress, and then the mattress itself. "How could it not be here?" Belle fought the anger rising in her throat.

Walking back to the front desk, she rifled through its drawers to see if the locket was there. There were pens, plastic cards with pictures, batteries, and flashlights. For containing so little, it sure was a big desk. Frustrated, Belle stood to leave when a dull flash of gray to the right caught her eye. She looked over to find a door whose knob was just visible in the light coming through the door she had left open atop the stairs. Belle retrieved one of the flashlights from the desk and went to investigate.

This door was different than the one to her cell: hers had a window that Regina used to peek in on her but this door was completely solid. She turned the knob and shown the light into its room. In it were shelves containing boxes filled with files and large envelopes. The first box to her left was labeled "_R_." Belle recognized some of the names on the files. She pulled the file labeled _Ruby_ and opened it to find accounts of various whereabouts, men she had dated, and drawings of Ruby in a red cloak as well as drawings of wolves. Belle replaced the file and decided she would discuss this matter with Emma, the sheriff in Storybrooke. Belle looked for the box labeled "_B_" to find her own name. In it she found both her file and a large envelope with her name. Opening the envelope, she carefully reached inside and pulled out a delicate chain from which was suspended her mother's locket. Sighing in relief, she quickly put it around her neck and clasped the locket in her hand.

Her mother had died in childbirth with Belle, so she had never known her. But her father, Maurice, had often said she looked just like her and Belle loved knowing that she had that connection to her mother. Her maternal grandfather had said Belle had the same spirit as her mother. Her grandpapa would recall memories of his own daughter holding ropes for him on the pier, twirling in her Sunday dress, or reciting her lines for the school play. On more than one occasion, he had mistakenly called Belle by her mother's name. Belle had decided early on that if God ever blessed her with a little girl of her own, she would name her Alice after her mother.

The time Belle had spent with her beloved Rumpelstiltskin before the curse had been short. Regina had tricked her and kept her imprisoned in a tower for a little over a year. Belle had been concealed in a room with only one door leading into the hall. She had been heavily guarded in the event of Rumpel discovering that she was indeed still alive. Belle recalled that she never saw the sunlight during that year. More than once that had threatened to break her resolve. She would walk around her small cell either singing the nursery songs her nanny had sung to her or reciting Scriptures she had memorized. Both had given her comfort during her time of isolation.

Since breaking free from her cell and finding Rumpelstiltskin, Belle had tried to resume some normalcy in her life. Recently, she had found herself wondering what it would be like if she and Rumpel started a family. Of course, he was too concerned about keeping Regina in check and searching for his long, lost son Bae to think of beginning a new family. Still, Belle imagined what it might be like.

Their child would likely have brown hair, but whether they had blue eyes or brown would be anyone's guess. She personally hoped he or she would have brown eyes like her husband. She imagined herself singing sweet lullabies to her sleeping baby, having pretend sword fights around their blanket forts, reading bedtime stories every night, and having devotionals every morning before breakfast. Recently, Granny had been teaching her to knit and Belle had already mastered making a cap and a pair of booties.

Returning her attention to the storage closet she was in, she let her curiosity have reign and shown the light into the rest of the room. Regina was nothing if not orderly. Linens and hospital gowns rested inside a large metal cabinet. Neatly stacked totes were labeled with their respective contents, mostly hospital supplies. At the far side of the space, Belle spied a small statue. She could see that it was a statue of a very young child, but couldn't make out the features clearly, even with the aid of her flashlight. Abandoning her query, she picked up the statue and carried it out of the closet. Completely distracted with the found object, she walked right past a faint glow of red slipping through the cracks of a hollowed container. She ascended the flight of stairs and shut the entry door behind her.

Belle set the statue down in the hallway and looked at it in the light. The statue was of a two year old girl with chubby cheeks. Her eyes were looking up and her mouth was slightly parted. Both hands were stretching upward as though the girl had been begging to be picked up. Walking around the back side of the statue, Belle saw that the child had been given very long hair that reached to the ground, neatly braided and tied with a bow. Struck by how lifelike the little figure was, she felt compelled to draw it into her arms, to protect and nurture it. She was not a thief by any means, but decided Regina probably wouldn't miss the abandoned statue anyway. Belle carried the statue in her arms back across town to her home.

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

He had been laboring since before dawn and most of the lumberjacks had already left for home. Still, Karl Glückmann couldn't pull himself away from his work. He didn't have much to look forward to at home anyway. His mother had her own set of chores to do around the house: tending the animals and garden, washing the clothes in the stream, and mending socks he always managed to wear holes in. Her cooking was filling albeit bland as she didn't care to waste her time with herbs. After dinner, Karl would wash up in the stream and go straight to bed, all to do it over again the next day. His life had become mundane.

His thirtieth birthday was quickly approaching, and he wasn't enthusiastic about it. What would be the point? He didn't have a wife to share in celebration with. The fair maidens in town had all shunned his proposals. Susanna, Felicia, Marie, and Claire had rejected him for his poor marks in school. Betsy, Charlotte, and Teresa had found him too brutish. The miller's and the butcher's daughters had both rejected him for being too poor. On and on the list went, until Emily Farnswarth had just been insulted for being asked last.

The sun began to show its last light when Karl decided it would be too dark to continue. He gathered his sack with bread crumbs, swung his ax over his shoulder and walked towards the winding river. It had been some time since he had walked home this way. He usually took the shorter route straight through the woods. The babbling brook beckoned him to linger a bit, so he set his belongings down and scooped the cool water up to his face. The splash of water was refreshing. He lifted the water to his face once more before taking a seat along the embankment to watch the sun bid farewell to the day she had shone over.

Slowly the stars began peeking through the night. Karl liked to think of the stars as little fairies that could come down and grant wishes. The moon was full tonight and a soft melody began to tickle Karl's ear. He was just about to leave when the most peculiar sight appeared across the river.

The Full Moon Festival was just beginning and not a fairy would miss it. Once each month, the fairies gathered from the farthest corners of the realm. Each fairy would wear her most ornate leotard and petal skirt with matching slippers. Fairies weren't known for having long tresses, but they would splay feathers in their hair and wear thick glittering eyeliner, blush, and lipstick. If she had children who had not yet come of age, she would nestle them inside a tulip, which gently rocked them to sleep. The Festival was held in the Enchanted Forest by the Moon River. As each fairy arrived at the festival, she would assume human size and then quickly greet her neighbor before taking her place along the forest's edge to join together in a well rehearsed and fluid dance.

First a few fairies emerged from between the trees simultaneously with arms slowly moving towards the sky. Their legs moved in elegant patterns as their skirts bounced and swayed. They joined hands, forming a circle and dancing around an empty center joyfully. A second set of fairies emerged from the forest and joined them, dancing in the opposite direction. One group after another they came until they had little room left beside the water.

Suddenly the song quieted to a low hum and the melody changed. Through the center of the trees came the most beautiful fairy of them all. Her dress was pristine white and longer than the other fairies' dresses. She wore pearls and the white feathers of a peacock lightly kissed with soft blue at its tips were pinned around her soft blond curls. Her face had been dusted with pearl glitter and her lips were the color of the pink oleander growing in his mother's garden. He had never before seen such a beautiful woman and he was captivated by her. Her dance was more somber and when she reached the center opening, the other fairies joined in her dance.

Karl longed to get a closer look at the white fairy and quickly made his way down the river to a shallow crossing point. Stealthily he snuck towards the dancing fairies until he found himself hidden in the tall grass a mere arms' reach from her. He waited until the white fairy was close enough to where he was crouched and reaching out his hand, he grabbed hold of the handkerchief tucked in to her belt sash. He quickly drew it close to him and waited to see if he had been caught. The white fairy hadn't felt the theft and continued to dance her way back to the center. Karl pulled the fabric up to his nose and smelled the intoxicating perfume of the Ireus flower.

Ignoring the ache beginning to grow in his belly after his long day's work, he settled against a tree to continue his vigil. The music began growing in speed and sound and the dance became more joyful. The White Fairy led the procession weaving around trees and under arms in a dizzying frenzy. As the music ceased the fairies sat down in the grass. Trumpets announced the Blue Fairy as she gracefully moved through the forest to the river. The ancient fairy had the undivided attention of those gathered and gave a gentle smile and nod in appreciation.

"Fae Sisters, welcome to the Full Moon Festival!" Shouts of excitement erupted from the crowd. "These festivals are always full of cheer and celebration, but tonight is especially wonderful. Our sister, Loraleis, has just come of age!" More shouts of cheer and jubilee. "From this night forward, the White Fairy may join us in granting fairy wishes so long as she retains her symbol of chastity and honor."

Karl thought the White Fairy was lovely before, but now her face was beaming! Oh, how lovely she was with a smile.

"Well, Loraleis, do you have your handkerchief?" Reaching her hand to the sash she wore around her waist, Loraleis expected to find her heirloom. Her smile changed to a look a puzzlement. Had she dropped it?

"I'm sure it was on my sash, Blue Fairy."

"Ladies, look around. She must have dropped it during her dance."

A murmur broke out through the crowd.

"Oh please, find my handkerchief," the desperate fairy pleaded as she began to retrace her steps.

Unsure of what this meant and not wanting to be spotted, Karl decided it was time to leave. He quickly and quietly began moving through the trees back to the point of crossing. Loraleis found that her legs began working against her and she found herself walking in a new direction, an area she hadn't yet checked. Thinking at first that her handkerchief was drawing her in, she stopped resisting. On she walked across the grassy glade of the fae festival and into the shadows of the forest. When it became apparent that her legs were taking her past the area she had danced in, however, Loraleis became frightened. "What's happening to me?"

Blue Fairy stood quietly for a moment before calling out, "Another destiny has been chosen for you. You must follow it."

Tears began streaming down the White Fairy's face as fear and confusion set in.


	2. Destiny

Chapter Two: **Destiny**

Belle felt a little silly walking through her front door carrying the child statue. She worried what Rumpel would think when he came home this evening. Taking in a deep breath, Belle crossed the threshold and marched straight up the flight of stairs to the room next to the Master bedroom. The room had been used for storage during her years of confinement in the psychiatric ward, and she had spent many hours clearing out the boxes her husband had gathered and abandoned. Rumpel had given her full reign over their home to make it into whatever she wanted. After clearing the clutter, she painted and recarpeted the room. He had questioned her choice in the soft creamy yellow paint, but supposed it may have been a calming color for her in her new freedom.

It had only been a few months since she had resumed her relationship with Rumpel. He hadn't even known she was still alive during that time. Regina had led him to believe that she had died tragically in the Enchanted Forest. Instead, Belle had been locked away in an isolated tower. Under the curse, that tower had transformed into a psychiatric ward in the basement of the Storybrook Hospital. In the wake of her freedom, however, she had already had her share of adventures. Most notably, she had been shot, forcing her to cross the town line, and for a time had lost her memory.

Even in the Enchanted Forest, though, she knew that she loved him and that he loved her. He had offered to give her the wedding of her dreams: a wedding fit for a princess. But Belle didn't care for all the pomp and circumstance. Instead, they held their wedding in their living room with only a small gathering of Belle's closest friends.

Since the exchange of their wedding vows, Belle had been unable to resist the idea of having a child together. She knew Rumpel was consumed by the curse, and reconnecting with his long, lost son, Baelfire. But Belle couldn't help herself. Perhaps it was what all women went through, or maybe it was just the hopeful dreams of a newly wed woman. It may have even had something to do with Belle having wanted a mother-daughter relationship her whole life. Whatever the reason, Belle had determined to make that room into a nursery.

Belle set the statue in the center of the room and sat cross legged in front of it. "Well, what shall I do with you?" It was remarkable that the still child was affecting Belle so. "I wonder how old you must be. I'd say by your height and round cheeks that you must be around two years old going on three, though I've never seen a toddler with such long hair before." A sense of wonder at who had crafted such a fine piece set in and she thought of who the subject of its creator had been. "Well, it's decided. I'm going to turn this room into a nursery and you will be my muse." Now she really did feel silly talking to an inanimate object.

"The crib should go here don't you think?" Belle asked her silent companion as she crossed to the far side of the room. "And, perhaps a toy chest on this side," she said, stretching out her arms to measure the space for the imaginary box. Walking to the wall adjacent the door, she said, "Definitely a small book shelf here. Oh, you'll love the books I choose..." Slowly she stepped towards the window.

"We'll put the rocking chair next to the book case," she declared more solemnly. She didn't know where the catch in her throat was coming from, but decided it was time for lunch. "I'll return shortly. Don't go anywhere." Belle decided she should at least have a sense of humor about the whole thing.

Closing the door, she walked down the stairs and made her way to the kitchen. She pulled out the fixings for her sandwich - oat bread, hickory smoked ham, pepper jack cheese, spinach leaves, and mustard - then absentmindedly assembled her lunch and set it on a plate on the table. While her hands had been thus occupied, her thoughts had found fertile ground in daydreams for the little nursery upstairs. Deciding she needed to record her ideas while they were fresh, she quickly made her way to Rumpel's study and secured a sketch pad and pencil and returned to the kitchen. Folding her hands into her lap, she bowed her head and said a blessing for her food. In between bites, she drew her plans for the room upstairs and jotted down a list of items she would need to purchase. Twenty minutes later, she was satisfied with her scheme, and finally turned her full attention to the remaining half of her lunch.

Rumpel usually walked to work each morning. It was good for his leg, he would often say. So Belle took the car and headed first for the boutique owned by Bernard. Before the curse, he had been the shoe cobbler. So often, he had claimed that his shoes were enchanted, having been made by wee elves during the night. In Storybrook, he owned _Fit for Royalty,_ a quaint little shop filled with one of a kind clothes he had designed. A few classy blouses caught her eye through the window, but she made her way to the children's section of the store.

A myriad of petite dresses were arranged on the dress racks. She picked up a small red dress with ruffles and embroidery and carefully touched the fabric.

"Soft and durable," she heard a cheery voice say behind her.

Spinning around, she found the cobbler's wife with long, flowing curls of gold , and wearing a cotton peasant blouse.

"I'm sorry," Belle stuttered.

"The fabric, it's soft and durable. All of our children's clothing are made with the finest material. Gentle enough for a baby, durable enough for the roughest boy," she smiled as she seemed to sing the words to Belle.

"Oh, I see. It is lovely."

"What sizes will you be needing, miss?"

Belle hadn't thought of this before. She had been preparing a nursery, but the child statue resonated in her mind. "Um... for a two or three year old, I suppose."

"Well, let's see. We have this rack right in front of you, this one here to my right," she gestured as she moved about the aisles, "and these four racks here. Now these here are for winter. It never hurts to shop a little early, but you may want to get the next size up if she's a fast grower."

"How did you know it's for a girl?" Belle inquired.

"Well, miss, you are holding a dress." Belle looked back at the red fabric hanging in her hands. "I'll be dusting over in the men's department. You just holler if you need anything."

Taking her time, Belle looked through the rest of the clothing. Among her final selection was a blue shirt with small flower print and a matching pair of bloomers, a long purple dress that reminded her of one she wore long ago as a babe, and a long sleeve button up with denim skirt and boots. The shop owner charged her for her purchase and carefully wrapped each piece in tissue paper before setting it in her paper sack.

Next, she headed to the furniture store, _Sit a Spell_. The store itself appeared much smaller on the outside, but once inside, its grandeur was breathtaking. Collections were arranged throughout giving the appearance of how certain pieces complemented one another well. Sales clerks scurried about fetching requested items from the other customers and ushering them into chairs to sign for payment and delivery. She had been told by Ashley that the employees at the furniture store were formerly her mice friends, the only friends she had before meeting Prince Thomas.

Veering to her right, Belle casually walked in the open spaces admiring the art on the walls. She admired the craftsmanship of each collection. One such collection had a bunk bed, dresser, and desk as well as décor for a small sailor in rich red, baby blue, and clean white. Another collection had an outer space theme with a toddler bed that looked like a rocket ship and a toy chest with buttons and gadgets all over it. A nursery set included a crib made of cherry wood and adorned with a glass butterfly mobile. Belle reached out her hand to survey the butterflies and drew a smile as the glass made soft tones when the butterflies touched one another.

Recalling a particular crib she had seen in an online search, Belle sought out someone to help her.

"Excuse me, Miss? I'm looking for a crib that can turn into a toddler bed."

"We have a crib like that over here," the sales girl explained as she continuously licked at her lips. She was young and thin with wispy hair and oversized glasses. Belle envisioned Cinderella once confiding in this former mouse prone to constant twitching and self grooming. Speaking fast in a high pitched, feminine voice, she explained the qualities of the crib. "This one is top of the line made from sturdy oak. It converts from a crib to a toddler bed and then into a twin sized bed. It costs more than the other cribs, but it's guaranteed to last throughout your baby's childhood. We do have a sale for a different crib if you'd like me to show it to you."

"No, this one is the one I want. Can you have it delivered today?" Unsure of why the matter was so urgent to her, but going with her gut instinct, Belle stammered, "I mean, if it is possible, I would greatly appreciate having it delivered today."

"Well, now, Jeff has a few deliveries already," the mouse girl said as she looked over the clipboard in her hands, "but I think we could squeeze you in at the end of the business day. Will that be alright?"

"That will be just fine, thank you." Belle was feeling confident in her decision. "I'd also like to look at your dressers and book shelves."

"Right this way," she directed. She looked at Belle curiously noting her slim waistline. "When are you expecting your baby to be born?"

Flushed and unsure how to answer, she stammered out, "Uh... soon, I hope..." _Oh, am I being that foolish? Am I rushing in too quickly? I haven't even spoken to Rumpel about all of this_, she thought to herself.

"Well, I'm sure it won't be too long, though you aren't even showing yet. Make sure you get plenty of naps in. I didn't sleep a wink when my first set of children was born," the young woman offered. "Of course that was before the curse and I was going between the barn and the loose floorboards of the house." Finding the sales girl endearing, Belle took the friendly advice given.

Having finished her purchases, she gave them her address for delivery. "Uh, there's one thing I'd like to request," she confided before leaving the store. "I'd like to keep this purchase quiet. I haven't told my friends and family yet." She hoped the sales clerk would understand and at the very least, squelch any rumors.

She next turned to the local grocery store where she had seen a handful of children's books. Choosing the books that would adorn her imaginary child's room was rather simple as the selection wasn't very large. She gathered the books of fables, princesses, and pirates. She decided that she would order more books online, as none of the townspeople were able to cross the town line, and borrow the rest from the library she managed. Placing the small bundle of stories in the trunk of her car, she headed home to wait for her delivery.

Jeff arrived at exactly 4:30 that afternoon. Belle was surprised to find that Jeff was Jefferson, whom she hadn't seen since her escape from the psychiatric ward. He had been the one who released her and had told her to find Rumpelstiltskin. She hadn't known who Jefferson was or why he had helped her.

"Oh, it's you," she uttered. "I've been meaning to thank you for helping me."

"It was nothing," he replied.

"Oh, but it was."

"Really, you don't have to..."

"What do you mean? Of course I have to thank you." She assumed he was just trying to be modest.

"I've got a delivery for you."

Deciding to drop the matter, she showed him the room upstairs and where she wanted each piece. He first brought in the bookcase. As she placed the books on the new shelf, he brought in the dresser. She had barely begun arranging the other decorations she had bought on the dresser when he wheeled in the crib.

Interrupting his assembly, she directed, "I'd like that to be in the toddler bed form."

"Sure thing, boss lady." He was expedient in his task and she could see why the furniture store kept him employed.

Continuing her work, she filled the toy chest with wooden blocks, plastic rings, and soft dolls. She hung other knick knacks she had found on the walls: a picture of a ballerina holding a teddy bear, a framed poem. Soon Jefferson left and she was alone to finish putting away the clothes she had bought. She had chosen a soft blue sheet set with yellow flowers embroidered into a pattern for the crib. Standing at the door, she surveyed her day's work. What struck her most in the room, however, were not the sheets, or the grand furniture, or even the books: it was the still, small girl standing in the middle of the room.

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

Rumpel had grown accustomed in his short time with his wife to the welcome aroma of dinner upon his arrival home. Tonight, though, he had no such greeting and his stomach announced his disappointment with a growl. Instead, he heard the faint sound of singing coming from upstairs. He set his briefcase on the small desk by the door and made his way up the flight of stairs, his cane tapping each step upward. The door next to their shared bedroom was slightly ajar. He gently pushed it open and took in the scene before him, a bit shocked by the change in the room. This furniture had not been here earlier this morning when he had left. Belle's back was turned to him and she was clearly singing a little nursery rhyme to some object he could not see. "Belle?"

Belle swallowed and took a deep breath before turning to her husband, taking in his stunned expression. "What do you think?" she asked apprehensively.

"I...uh...are you trying to tell me somethin', love?"

Belle smiled sheepishly. "No, Rumpel. I mean, yes, Rumpel." She took a deep breath and began. "I want to have a baby. I'm not pregnant. But I think I want to be." Shrugging, she said, "I guess I did a little too much too soon."

Rumpel sighed a little in relief, then asked, "How long have you felt this way, dearie?"

"Not long," she admitted. "I went to search for my mother's locket today and I found _her_."

Following her direction, he focused on the small statue standing next to his wife. The form and face of the little cherub was familiar to him. He'd not seen the wee lass in many years, but he knew her all the same. Kneeling beside Belle, he gently asked, "Where did ye get her?"

"In my former cell. I mean, in a closet outside of my former cell." Belle looked at her husband and could see there was more to his simple question than location.

Rumpel held his gaze steadfastly on the child for a long moment before telling his wife, "I know who she is."

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

When Karl reached the river crossing, he glanced behind him to capture one final look at the Fairy's Full Moon Festival. He was alarmed to see the White Fairy walking in the tree line straight towards him. In a panic, he began sprinting as fast as he could across the river and alongside the stream. Looking over his right shoulder, he found that she was now running in pursuit of him. Ducking into the wood line, he hoped she would lose his tracks.

Taking an indirect path, he continued home. Upon reaching the gate at its entrance, he stooped over to catch his breath. After a few moments, he stood and turned expecting to see only the trees and an empty dirt path. The White Fairy stood less than a foot away and he fell back as he lost his footing.

"What do you want?" he huffed as his heart continued to race.

"Pardon me, as I don't mean to accuse you. I seem to have lost my handkerchief and felt it calling me to follow you." Her voice was smooth despite the running. Fairies don't lose their breath as easily and are used to flying faster than humans can run. Although, Loraleis hadn't thought to change into fairy size during her pursuit.

"I don't know anything about a handkerchief," he tried to lie.

The fairy's eyes fell to the ground. "Oh," she sighed. "Where could it be? Why would the magic cause me to follow you? I must have my handkerchief." She began to sob.

Feeling bad for his theft and his bold lie, he tried to comfort her. "There, there, now lass. It can't be all that bad to lose a handkerchief. Why I lose at least two a week. My ma always makes me a new one."

"You don't understand," she protested through her tears. "Fairies are given only one handkerchief in their lifetime. My mother made mine before I was born. She embroidered my name on its edge. So long as I have my handkerchief, I can live among the fairies and grant magical wishes to people. But if someone else possesses my handkerchief, then I am subject to them. Some cruel oaf could grind me up for pixie dust, or treat me as a slave."

Karl hadn't realized the power of the fabric he had stolen. Devious thoughts began to turn over in his feeble mind. "Or," he suggested, "they could make you their wife."

The fairy halted her crying. "Oh no, I don't want to be a wife." Loraleis sensed where this _suggestion_ was heading and her mood altered.

"But wasn't your mother a wife?" he queried.

"Oh, certainly, but not until her one hundredth birthday," she snapped.

"One hundredth?" he choked. "Well, now why would you want to wait so long? You are such a beautiful girl."

She began taking deeper breaths to calm the anger growing inside her. "Please, help me find it," she gritted through her teeth as she began searching the ground for any evidence.

Karl decided he didn't feel bad for his theft now. In fact, he rather delighted in his fortune. "It's foolishness if you ask me. And I'm late for supper as it is." Opening the gate, he began walking the stone steps leading to his front door. Once again, the fairy felt compelled to follow the man in front of her.

A growl escaped the pretty girl's mouth and she no longer stifled her anger. "You have my handkerchief, don't you? You were lying to me."

Karl turned again to look at her. Shrugging his shoulders, he pulled the dainty fabric from his pocket. Holding it up, he admitted, "Well, lass, it appears I've found myself a new wife. Best come in and meet your mother-in-law."

Loraleis wanted to rip the smirk off his face. "Give it back," she screamed as he turned his back to her and walked through the door. Angrily, she stomped through the threshold behind him and demanded, "Do you hear me? I don't want to marry you!" Against her will, she continued to pull closer to him, and deciding she would have to take her handkerchief by force, she desperately lunged for the precious little square of cloth.

Years of swinging the ax had given Karl great strength. The little fairy was no match for him physically. Holding the magic handkerchief up high over his head in one hand, he stiffly held her back with the other, her small arms flailing uselessly as she tried to grasp the precious token just out of her reach.

Standing in the small, cluttered kitchen was Karl's mother, Berta. Alarmed at the scene unfolding in her kitchen, she bellowed, "Karl, what is the meaning of this?"

The stout man wrestled the younger female into a chair and held her arms down. "Ma, I want you to meet the woman I'm going to marry."

"Never!" the fairy hissed at him as she bucked against the chair.

"Karl, what do you mean? I don't know her. You certainly haven't been courting her," his mother scolded.

"She's a fairy, Ma, and I captured her magic handkerchief; now she has to marry me." Oblivious to the young woman's protests, Karl was now beaming in delight.

"But Karl..." his mother began.

"Ma, couldn't you use more help around here? Besides, none of the maidens in town will even talk to me. This is the only way I'm going to get hitched."

His mother was grappling to understand. She loved her son, but had never seen him behave in such a manner before. Somewhat terrified at the cruelty he was displaying, she finally conceded. "Well, I could use more help minding the garden."

"No, no, no! I won't marry you." Angry, the fairy glared at him as he released her arms and stood back, arms folded across his chest, to gloat over his captive.

Too pleased with his good fortune, he pronounced the final sentence. "Sorry, lassie, it's already decided. By noon tomorrow, you'll be my bride." Karl jumped out of the way as the feisty fairy tried to swing at his face.

Moved with pity to offer the girl some small comfort, Berta reached around her son, took the lass' small hand and pulled her up from the chair. "Come on now. We'll have supper and then get you to bed. You can sleep in my room tonight and Karl's after the wedding. Now, what's your name? I don't want to always be calling you '_my daughter-in-law_.'"

Through defiant tears, she let out a long breath, and then replied, "Loraleis. And I don't want you to be calling me '_your daughter-in-law_' at all."

Berta decided that after the girl got to know her son better that she would come around, though she had to admit, forcing a girl to marry him was the only way her son would ever obtain a wife. She didn't know how he had captured the handkerchief that would bind them together, but after putting the girl to bed, she produced a wooden lock box for her son to keep the heirloom in. It was decided that Karl would keep it in an inconspicuous place so that his mother wouldn't be tricked into giving it back to the sleeping fairy. Karl loved his mother, but could sense that she had reservations. He opened the hole he had carved in his closet and concealed the box within.


	3. Plans for the Future

**I want to especially thank my mother, cynicsquest, for all of her guidance and discipline in being my beta-reader. I also want to thank OneMagician for her encouragement and friendship.**

Chapter 3: **Plans for the Future**

The day of their wedding had been one of the most disastrous Berta recalled. It had started when the girl awoke and began pounding on the door of the man she was to be wed to.

"Get up, you lazy oaf! Give me back my handkerchief. I will not go through with this wedding no matter what you say." Laughter had bellowed through the other side of the door as her groom showed insensitivity.

Berta made breakfast despite the bickering throughout the morning. She had expected the bride to refuse to eat, but found the girl to be ravenous. Unsure of whether fairies simply had big appetites or if the previous night's event was the source of her hunger, Berta kept cooking the better part of the morning. The animals were unpleasant with their mistress due to her tardiness and Nellie, her milking goat, gave her a prompt kick to inform her of her disapproval. The plants in her garden were already drooping in their lack of early morning watering. The stout woman hurried about her chores as quickly as she could.

Getting ready for the wedding itself had been laborious. Karl had insisted that Loraleis wear the dress she already had on, but the girl refused since it hadn't been washed. Berta was a much larger woman than her son's fiance, so she had no alternatives for her to wear; and there was simply no time to stitch a new dress. This caused the fairy to further despise the lummox for forcing her to wear an unclean dress on her wedding day.

When the time came to head for town, Loraleis would point to the door, her fingers releasing shimmering dust, causing the door to reshut. Berta saw the pouch that the fairy kept her pixie dust in, and finally exclaimed, "For heaven's sake, give me that," snatching the small purse away and securing it in her bosom. No sooner had the trio arrived at their front gate when a downpour began.

Berta looked at Loraleis suspecting she had something to do with the rain, but dismissed the thought when she saw the girl's shocked look as she registered the dirt splattering the hem of her dress. Karl retrieved the wagon from the stable in the back and picked up his bride, forcibly setting her down under the covering in the back.

The fiesty bride used all of her might to remain in the covered wagon, but her groom's strength once again overpowered her will. The commotion stirred a crowd to gather around the church and fill the pews. Many were quite curious as to how Karl had managed to find such a beauty to wed while others wanted to know what sort of gossip to begin spreading about the fussy young woman. Standing before the minister seemed to calm the fairy down quite a bit, much to Berta's relief, but she remained apprehensive and spent the first few minutes in fervent prayer.

"Do you take this woman..."

"I do."

"Wait." The minister cleared his throat, as a titter of laughter rippled through the crowd. "Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, forsaking all others; for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, 'til death due you part?"

"I do," the groom quickly reaffirmed.

"And do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to love and respect, forsaking all others; for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, til death due you part?"

_Not on your life!_ Loraleis thought. She took a deep breath in. Calmly and cooly she breathed out, "I do."

"By the power..." _Wait! _she thought._ What's happening? I do not; I do not!_

"You may now kiss the bride."

Karl had rightly assumed his captive would protest. He stood stunned for a single moment before gently pulling her in to himself and giving her a light kiss. Berta stood in joy and cried a loud, "Thank you! Thank you!"

The rest of the townspeople came by to meet the new wife and offer their congratulations. Loraleis stood in complete shock. _What is happening? _She vowed quietly that she would get to the bottom of this matter and would leave this contemptible man.

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

Karl gave Loraleis a small tour of their home. He showed her where the cooking supplies were in the kitchen and where his mother's needles and thread were kept in the sitting room. He pointed to the latrine out back and the washing supplies for clothes. "Ma will show you to the animals and gardening tomorrow." He took her to his room and showed her a space she could keep her clothes in. Deciding to repay her for the kindness of marrying him and not humiliating him in front of the people who mocked him most of his life, he gave her a few moments alone to familiarize herself with the surroundings.

The confused woman looked out the window and asked, "Blue Fairy, will you please come to me? Please?" Within moments, Reul Ghorm was in view. For the first time since her capture, Loraleis transformed into the small size of her true form. "Blue Fairy, what's happening to me?"

The superior fairy looked at the once promising fairy before her. Her dirty loose curls lay heavy against her discolored dress. Sympathizing, she replied, "It appears that destiny had its own plans for your life."

"But I wanted to be a real fairy," Loraleis protested as she marched back and forth on the window sill. "I wanted to be like you, and have adventures." The color momentarily returned to her face as she looked toward the night sky. Then her countenance fell as she sighed, "He forced me to marry him. I don't know how he did it. Somehow, though, I had to say 'I do.' I didn't want to, though."

"Marriage?" The blue fairy thought for a moment. "Loraleis, listen to me. Other fairies have faced far worse than a forced marriage. You had to marry him, because the holder of your handkerchief controls the final outcome. If he wants marriage, you cannot protest during the wedding, simply because his wish will overrule yours. If he wants you to become dust, dust you will be. Whatever he wants, he gets."

Tears began to sting the white fairy's eyes. Quickly drying them, and setting her face to determination, she inquired, "Can I take it back? I mean, if I get back my handkerchief will I again control my own destiny?"

Reul Ghorm looked into the eyes of the woman who was supposed to be her apprentice. "In theory. But I don't believe in going against destiny. You will be better off learning to find happiness in your new life."

Disbelief and disgust welled up in the new bride's heart. "I will never be happy here. I will find my heirloom and lay hold of my own fate."

The blue fairy departed and left Loraleis to contemplate. She resumed her human height as she began to pace the hardwood floor. Defiance and a cool spirit met her husband as he opened the door. Karl needed only to wish for their consummation for it to be so, but she was determined to escape and nothing that happened between now and her freedom would get in her way.

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

The two brothers were inseparable. If the elder of the pair went to En Dor Mountain on a quest, the younger would plead with his parents for permission to go as well. If the younger had a riding contest, the elder was helping him prepare every last detail. They were brothers, comrades, and friends.

However, since the elder had met the love of his life, though his brother was genuinely happy for him, distance was growing between them. Alexander had always known that his brother would become king when their father died, and it was assumed that he would become the royal adviser in matters of war. Still, Alexander thought it might be time to lay hold of his own destiny, removing himself from being his brother's shadow and allowing his brother time to become more familiar with his new wife.

They had maintained their routine of playing Pome the third morning of each week. They would ride past the city gates into a clear field owned by their father. Arranged throughout the field were stacks of hay, wooden posts, and a handful of old trees. During their childhood, the boys had enjoyed climbing each tree to the very top and peering over the tops to look at the kingdom. These days, they hung ropes from the branches and tied apples to the ends. They would hurl spears at their targets from varying distances ranging from forty feet to seventy feet. Alexander proved to be the superior hurler, not only against his brother but also against other soldiers in their land.

"Ella has started asking me when we were going to find you a wife," Thomas commented as Alexander threw the first spear. He gave a half smile when Alexander missed the apple by three inches. "A little off your game today, I see. I suppose I'll have no problem being in the lead," he teased.

"Barely in the family and she's already trying to get rid of me," Alexander remarked with humor.

Thomas raised the spear above his shoulder and took aim, slicing through the fruit with ease. "Nah, she just wants you to be happy like we are."

"Yeah, I guess." Alexander considered how family celebrations around birthdays and the holy days would be. He imagined himself alone and feeling left out of new inside jokes between his brother and sister-in-law. Alexander was lost in thought the remainder of the game.

Sensing the growing change in their relationship forced Thomas to take on a more sincere tone. "Mother is busy preparing the nursery."

"Mm-hmm."

"Father is growing weaker."

"Yeah."

"I've been trying to wait to ask you this, but the time has come to examine the matter. Have you decided whether or not you want to be my royal adviser?" Thomas looked at his brother before proceeding. "I trust you with my life. There's no one I'd rather have as my right hand than you."

Alexander knew this conversation had been coming. He had pondered how he was going to bring it up to his brother. Now that the question was out in the open, he felt sheepish about his response. "I, uh... I think... I need some time to be on my own."

"I see," was all his brother would say.

"It isn't that I want to leave you or that I don't want to be your adviser. I do, actually. I just want to take some time to explore a little, to visit other nations and see what lies beyond our kingdom's borders."

"Uh-huh." Thomas' gaze never wavered.

"Perhaps, I'll even be able to make some allies in a non-political setting. You know I always think there is a hidden agenda in politics."

"Alex, it's alright, wise even. An adviser should have some experience, and the job will always be open to you. You have my blessings, my brother."

Alexander was a little relieved. He hadn't been sure how his brother might handle his news. They had often talked about exploring new territories together, but most of their visits to other countries were tied up in political efforts and courtship balls. The pair had always joked that they would never fall in love at a ball. It was too cliché for them. But Thomas had met his bride on his twenty-first birthday at a ball held in his honor. Alexander had decided he would much rather heroically rescue a damsel in distress than fall for a maiden wearing too much lipstick and jewelry. He preferred a woman who didn't mind getting dirt under her fingernails, proper lady or not.

"So, when do you leave?"

"In about a week, I suppose."

"Just in time to escape the baby shower." Thomas teased; he was hoping his brother would have provided him with a fail-proof excuse not to attend the shower himself. Too many women cooing and chattering incessantly was not his ideal afternoon.

"So soon? She only announced her expectancy a few weeks ago." Alexander shook his head. He didn't understand the world of women, and he didn't really want to. So he suggested, "Well, there's always talking business with Father."

"Don't remind me," Thomas laughed.

"So have you two picked out any names for my future nephew?"

"So sure it's a boy, huh?"

"Of course. With our genes how it could be anything else?"

"If it's a boy: Alexander." Thomas paused, "If it's a girl: Alexandra."

Alexander was moved by the gesture, a lump of emotion forming in his throat. Casting a sideways glance at his brother, he blurted out, "Well, I'm sure not naming my daughter _Thomasa_ after you."

Both men laughed as they rode back to the castle. Had Alexander truly understood the trap the Dark One had set for Ella and Thomas, he would have stayed. Had he known a curse lay on the horizon, he would have been at his brother's side all the way. Instead, Alexander roamed from kingdom to kingdom learning all he could from the people of how they were treated by their leaders. He knew if kings truly cared about the people, they would ensure their safety and well being, even sacrificing their own comforts to secure their subjects. He took careful notes of which kingdoms he would encourage alliances with as well as which kings or queens to not get tangled with.

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

Loraleis had spent several months tending her new home. In the wee hours of the morning she fed oats and hay to the sorrel mare and the few barn animals. Her fairy blood bonded her with animals, and she enjoyed their honest and grateful company. The old, brown sow with her spotted piglets grunted contentedly when the reluctant bride poured slops into her trough. Smiling, Loraleis would scratch her mud-caked back with a long stick, the sow practically singing in gratitude. Nellie loved to be fed a few lank carrots by hand, and she seemed to be less cross with the gentle fairy milking her than her cross, old mistress. In particular, she was fond of watching the chickens peck at the ground as they clucked about, greedily devouring the corn and grain she spread on the ground.

Weeding was her least favorite chore, but it kept her out of the house while her husband prepared for work. After he left, she would slip inside to begin cleaning. While dusting and polishing, she would search every nook and cranny for evidence of her small talisman, but something always seemed to prevent her from fully cleaning her own room, leading her to suspect it lay hidden somewhere within.

She picked up a few recipes from her mother-in-law, becoming a fair cook. Inadvertently, she had even discovered which herbs she could slip into the food that would cause her clod of a husband to fall asleep within minutes of finishing his meal. While he snored nosily on the sagging bed, she reorganized the shared closet in their room. As she moved the dusty boots sitting atop the high shelf, she noticed a small keyed door. Thinking it an odd place for such an entry, she assumed her natural four-inch height and flew up for a better view. It appeared that the square pine door could only be opened with a key. She tried to see through the key hole, but it was only dark inside. She would need to coax the pixie dust back from the older woman so it could illuminate the contents behind the door.

The following morning, she fibbed that her hands were too sore to complete her cleaning chores. "If I had my magic, I could clean faster and give my hands a break," she sighed.

"The house is clean enough. You've worked hard. Take the rest of the day off," Berta suggested.

For several days, Loraleis tried various versions of why she needed her magic dust. "I could do both of our chores and you could have a day off too." "Wouldn't it look nice if the walls were a different color? We may not have money for paint, but my magic could make them any color you like." It took the fairy wife almost a week for the older woman to finally give in. Berta gave Loraleis a small pinch of dust and kept back the rest safely in its pouch.

"Make this one blue," the older woman squealed as dust filled in the walls with the new colors. "And lavender in my room." It made Loraleis happy to grant the kind woman's small desires. She decided she would miss her when she finally escaped. Loraleis used the smallest amount of dust possible and slipped the rest into her cleaning apron when the older woman's head was turned away.

Waiting once more until her husband slept after his supper, she took her meager sum of dust from her apron and inspected the small wooden door in her closet. Rubbing the finest amount of dust between her fingers and thumb, she gently blew the magic through the small opening. Pressing her eye as close to the metal plate as possible, she gazed upon the edge of a wooden box made of mohagony. Curious, she tried to see if the pixie dust would open the lock, but found her attempt unsuccessful.

"That must be where it is. I'll have my handkerchief soon." She sighed in relief that she had finally found the fabric holding her to the despicable man holding her in bondage.

Returning to normal size, Loraleis found herself to be a little dizzy. _Perhaps,_ she thought, _it has been too long since last I used my dust. _Her dizziness continued for several days and she began to feel queasy at the smell of food. Berta had already noticed a small swelling in the young woman's abdomen and declared, "Child, I do believe you will be having a child of your own soon."

Loraleis' gave a cross expression as she thought of how this would change her plans. Fairies who mated with humans only produced another fairy about half of the time. Another plausibility was to give birth to a human. But sometimes, the resulting child was neither fairy nor human. Sometimes, the child was something else altogether.

Thoughts of Trolls, Leprechauns, Sirens and Ogres swam through her mind. Fear gripped her as she remembered the darkest offspring. Banniks were male seers who invited demons and forest spirits to participate in divination. They wouldn't speak but would either stroke the fortune seeker's back if all was well or claw the back if darkness lay before them. The expectant mother chilled as she considered the possibility that she could in fact be carrying such a creature.

Lowering herself to the rocking chair in the sitting room, she let out a shudder. She would have to wait until after the child was born. A fairy baby she could, and would, bring with her. A human babe would have to be left in the care of her husband. Any other kind of child born to her could pose a threat if unguarded in either fairy or human worlds.

The only way to know what kind of child she would give birth to was to fully inspect the child at birth. A fairy was born with a patterned birthmark on her buttocks, and was only an inch long at birth. All Fairies and Sirens were strictly female. Sirens were born the size of humans, but were slightly paler and had large doe like eyes. A human child, of course, would look like any other baby, but was certain to have fae blood that might manifest itself in some way down the road.

Sometimes, with much less frequency, a babe of darker leanings would be born. Trolls were hairy and displeased by any touch from a human. Leprechauns, of course were green, as were Ogres. Ogres were distinguished by the shape of their ears and noses and were generally very large. Banniks were strictly male and hairy; they have screaching cries and their eyes become red when the future comes in to focus. Birthing a darkling almost always resulted in the mother's death, and these creatures were born hearty and cunning. They usually ran off right after the delivery to join their own kind in the forests and vales beyond the Enchanted Forest. A chill ran through her at the prospect of bringing such a child into the world.

"I'll just have to sing sweet lullabies and pet my belly a lot," she said to herself, reminded of the Old Fae's Tales of encouraging good spirits to be born.

Having no knowledge of the several possibilities that might come from a fairy-human union, her husband was delighted to hear the news of his wife's expectancy. He hoped this would cause her to fully appreciate her new life with him and made up his mind to cater to her every whim. So when she began to crave the rapunzel plant to eat in her daily salad, he valiantly scaled the evil queen's garden wall to steal the desired food.


	4. A Bargain and a Quest

**Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my little story. I hope you enjoy it! As always, thank you, cynicsquest, for helping me edit. **

Chapter 4: **A Bargain and a Quest**

Karl scaled the wall of the queen's garden the second night because it had been so easy on the first. The very idea of anyone guarding a patch of vegetables was ridiculous to the brute. Had he known that his wife would crave the rapunzel plant he would have suggested planting some in their own garden during the autumn months. Neither he nor his mother cared for the strong taste of this particular lettuce, so they had no reason to plant it before now. He decided to log this tidbit in his memory in case his wife conceived another child in the future.

Dropping into the soil, he stole a glance in each direction before stealthily making his way to his target. Karl sucked in a deep breath and savored the aroma growing around his feet. As a child, one of his chores had been to help his mother keep the garden. He remembered being spanked and sent to bed without dinner whenever he would take a stick to the evil rosemary dragon; or getting a swat against his hands when he impatiently uprooted the carrots to see if they were ready. He loved when his mother would strain fresh herbs into hot water, making delicious tea for their supper time. The fragrances in the queen's garden were homey, but unusual due to the herbs he was less familiar with.

Refocusing on his task, he reached out to take hold of a rapunzel head nearby. Deciding that he, in fact, did not want to be out every night stealing lettuce, he selected three more and placed them in his knapsack. Turning to leave, he was startled by the raven haired beauty who had silently materialized behind him. Her fair skin accentuated her dark features and smoldering ruby lips. Her dress appeared to be made of seal skin as it subtly shimmered in the moon light. Karl felt his stomach twisting into knots as the blood drained from his face while looking at the woman whose face shown rage and disgust.

"You _dare_ steal from the queen?" Regina said her eyes narrowing.

"Uh..." Karl stumbled for his explanation. "Uh, buh, buh, uh, buh..."

"You blubbering idiot!" the queen hissed. "Did you think I don't see everything that happens in my kingdom, let alone in the field beneath my window?"

Slowly regaining his speech, he mustered, "My wife wanted rapunzels."

"So," she snarled, "why not buy them in the market?"

"Beggin' your pardon, my queen," he stammered. "Rapunzels aren't favored among the people, and yours was the only garden with it."

Rolling her eyes, she replied, "Spare me from your boorish reasoning. I should turn you into a raccoon since your theft is as common as one."

The thought of being turned into a varmint did not suit Karl at all, and he sought to reason with the powerful sorceress. "Oh, please, your majesty, do no such thing to me. These rapunzels are for my wife who is with child. I'll put these back, see," as he removed each sphere from his pouch and gently lowered them to the ground. "Only do not turn me into a critter. I didn't know fairies had such cravings in their pregnancies."

"A fairy, you say?" Regina knew of many spells that called for the heart of a fairy, but catching one had proved to be a daunting task. Fairies operated in a slightly different time frame than humans; for every second that ticked by, a fairy had ten split-seconds, giving her the advantage against foes and predators. Regina knew how to beckon a fairy to her, but locking one in place had never been possible as the fairy had more time to react and flee. She was sure this simpleton had nothing to offer the creature he called his wife, but decided she could use his theft to trap the fae-blood.

Smiling in feigned sympathy, she changed her tone. "Well, if rapunzel is what your wife wants, then she may have all she desires," she paused and watched relief wash over the ignorant man's face. She enjoyed that moment when assurance turned to panic; it was her greatest pleasure when she dispensed threats. "On one condition," she continued; "your wife will become my property and must submit to my wishes." The evil queen was not disappointed by the terror that set in the brow and jaw of the man before her.

Karl's heart sank. "No, my queen! I couldn't let her go."

"Oh no?" Regina cocked an eyebrow. "Either she pays for the rapunzel you stole last night with my offer or she dies."

"It's a fairy you want, right?" A devious plan was forming in the mind of the greedy husband.

"Well I certainly don't have need for a ignoramus like you."

"Fairies give birth to other fairies, don't they?"

"Go on." _Perhaps_, the fair skinned beauty thought, _he isn't a stupid man after all._

"Instead of my wife, you can take the child when it's born."

Regina turned away from the man before her to think through the new offer. The spells she could cast all required the heart of a full-grown fairy. A fae child had no magic, which is why coming of age with them was a critical development. She began to turn back and insist once more on having the fairy wife when she remembered an aging spell. It would take an entire year for the child to become full-grown with the spell, but Regina decided she had the time. "It's a deal. Take all the rapunzel you like," she offered through a wicked smile, "and the night your child is born, I'll be there to collect."

Relieved that he had avoided being turned into an animal and that he got to keep his wife, Karl offered his hand to the queen to seal the deal. Regina rolled her eyes at the gesture as she snapped her fingers and disappeared.

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

Belle hadn't removed her eyes from her husband. Unsure of how Rumpel would know the toddler, she waited patiently for his explanation. In their own world, Rumpelstiltskin was known for brokering in babies and young children. Of course, rumors had abounded as to his reasons for doing so, some too horrible to acknowledge. Old wives had admonished young children to behave and go to sleep with no fuss once night fell, lest the Dark One appear to take the unruly brats away. Having been his maid for some time, Belle had learned that Rumpel had brokered in children for more noble purposes. Those who sought to make deals with him were often selfish, and were more than willing to pay magic's price by parting with one or more of their own offspring. The deal maker was obliged to take the unwanted babes for the granting of the petitioner's request, and all were placed in the arms of childless couples desperate to have progeny of their own. Belle knew her husband had a soft spot in his heart for humanities' outcasts, and he made sure that the burden of magic's demand fall completely on the shoulders of those who placed no value on their little ones.

Rumpel knelt before the child, setting his cane on the floor by his side. He examined her delicate, chubby cheeks and wide eyes. Her hair seemed to have been blowing in the wind and her soft, pudgy hands were reaching up to him. Her identity was unmistakable. "Her name is Rapunzel."

"Rapunzel?" Belle winced. "Couldn't someone have thought of a sweeter name for such an angel?"

"Aye, to be sure her ma probably did. But that was the name Regina gave her."

Puzzled by this strange naming arrangement, Belle inquired, "Why would Regina name someone else's baby?"

Rumpel drew in a breath as he rocked back from his crouching position to take a seat on the floor. "The child's grandmother came to see me one night. She was concerned for her boy and his wife. It seems her son had traded his daughter in exchange for the rapunzel growing in the queen's garden. Regina collected the babe the night she was born. The old woman wanted me to get the child back, but..." Rumpel paused before proceeding in his story. Belle loved him despite the monster he had been, nay the monster he knew he still was. He didn't believe for one minute that he had ever deserved her love, but he was grateful for it all the same. His wife possessed a gentler nature and was kind to people she met, whether they deserved it or not. Suddenly repulsed by his own behavior, he lowered his head as he looked away.

"But what?" she broke into his thoughts. Belle was as gentle and patient with him as he was cold and conniving with others. "Why couldn't you get her back to her family?"

"Belle, I'm not proud of what I've done."

The beauty moved closer to her husband and rested her hand upon his, gently offering, "It's alright, Rumpel. Just tell me. Maybe we can still figure this all out."

"Sweetheart," he paused once more, "I didn't see anything I could gain from getting the child back to her mother." Sheepishly, he added, "Rather, I saw it was better for the curse if I left the child with Regina."

Swallowing hard, Belle had to admit to herself that her husband's selfishness had not only taken this child away from her parents, but had also placed the toddler in harm's way with the evil queen. Deciding to lay her judgment aside, she asked, "Why would a father exchange his daughter for a plant?"

"I don't know." The wrinkles in his face showed his worry over whether or not his wife could still love him after his confession.

Mulling the information over in her head, she took a moment before replying. "Her poor mother probably misses her very much."

"Aye, I'm sure she does."

"Can Rapunzel come back to life or is she permanently a statue?" Belle fixed her eyes upon the still child and reached out her hand to caress her cheek.

Rumpel tried to recall whether or not he had seen the future of the girl or only the fate of her mother. "I believe the curse could have been broken, but only by her mother. I'm sorry, Belle. I don't think she made it to Storybrooke."

Tears welled into his wife's eyes as she took in the news her husband had given her. He patiently waited as she sat mourning for a family she had never met. Then a ray of hope settled into Belle's mind. "Perhaps her mother is here, living a lonely life, but would want to be reunited with her daughter." And with that, the wife of the once cold hearted Rumpelstiltskin formed a plan to find her.


	5. Three Wishes

Chapter 5: **Three Wishes**

**Thank you again, cynicsquest, for betaing my story for me. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

Karl took his time getting home, meandering through the forest as he pondered the deal he had struck with the evil queen. Grateful that his own life had been spared, he felt humility for only a short while. Eventually pride set in, as it often does with humans, and he began to feel puffed up in his proffered arrangement. Holding his head high and his shoulders back, he envisioned the queen asking him for royal advisement for his shrewd skills in persuasion. He imagined his beautiful Loraleis beaming with pride and respect as she was married to the wisest man in all of Enchanted Forest. He even fancied her confessing that she truly loved him and had always been wishing for such a husband as he, that she was overjoyed to be his wife.

_"Haven't you always sensed my desire for you? How else could I have lived if not in your arms? Why, it's my strongest desire to give you the best children a husband could be proud of."_

Karl stopped in his tracks as the last thought echoed in his mind: _children_. Slumping his shoulders, he felt his knees buckle beneath him as he landed on the cold earth. Nausea overcame him and he emptied his stomach of the contents remaining from his dinner. He had pledged his firstborn to a powerful, terrifying monarch who treated the lives of others as a nuisance to her.

Leaning back against the rough bark of the tree behind him,he punished himself by hitting his head against the sturdy trunk. His wife would be devastated, as would his mother. The pair had been picking out names together and knitting blankets and dresses. Loraleis insisted that she was having a girl, even though she said it was possible for a fairy to conceive a boy. However, a boy, in the fairy's mind, was a terrible creature and she wanted no part of it.

He had no idea how he'd broach the topic with her. "Guess what luck I had in getting you these wonderful rapunzels you love, my dear? All you want in exchange for our baby!" he said aloud to get a feeling for how it might sound. "No, that won't do. She doesn't care for bargains."

Trying again, he said, "The terrible, evil queen forced me to give up our child. It was either my life or hers." Well, he could imagine what his life would be worth to her when compared to that of the small life she carried inside of her. Pausing to reassess, he changed tactics. "It was _your_ life or hers." That wouldn't do either, he was sure. Berta had always taught him that a mother puts her child first and he was sure his wife had been given the same lesson during her lifetime.

"Loraleis, I've decided I don't want children. They are too expensive and inconvenient. You are my wife and you will give that child to the first woman who asks for her on the day of her birth." Satisfied that he would keep the upper hand in the situation as well as avoid confessing his cowardice, Karl stood and picked up his heavy bag full of the plant that had cost him so dearly. Slouching, he continued his walk home with no more dreams of heroic welcome.

The beautiful white fairy was already asleep when her husband joined her in their bed. Sensing his repelling odor, she rolled over to face the open window. Karl slipped between the sheets and snuggled up to the fairer creature, breathing in the scent lingering on her skin. Loraleis pretended to continue in her slumber until her husband's snores began. Loathing his every touch, sound, and smell, she reminded herself that she only had a few short months left until her freedom.

She carefully lifted his arm from her waist and gently placed it atop his own so as to not disturb him. She assumed her fairy height and lightly flew to the hidden box in the closet. She had been slowly collecting any spare pixie dust and depositing it in a small pouch near her trapped handkerchief. She spent the rest of the evening cuddled up on a small down feather on the top shelf.

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

She didn't have much to go on for her search for the enchanted child's family. Rumpel had described her grandmother as best as he could remember, but other than an olive complexion, rounded face, and crooked front teeth, he recalled little that was remarkable about her. Belle had thought it unusual that he knew the child's name, but not the grandmother's.

Her first effort was to contact Archie to list Rapunzel in the database for displaced family members. When the curse had been broken, Ruby and Archie had collected information from residents searching for people who were unaccounted for. Parents, desperate to find children scattered among the population in hodge-podge families had provided the psychiatrist and the waitress, both former members of the Royal Counsel, with information about the missing children. In the weeks since their memories had returned, Archie had assisted in putting several families back together. His initial search had found no matches, but he assured her he'd keep looking.

Next, she turned to the Storybrooke Library to see if she could glean any information about the past residents of the Enchanted Forest. One of the first tasks she had completed when her husband had given her the library to look after was to sort through the books, filing them and giving the proper reference numbers. Her next step was to create both the traditional and the online card catalogs. The former duty was second nature to her, while the latter seemed like a labyrinth without a solution.

A jovial man named Ben Keene, a former scholar in their old world and the town clerk in this one, had offered his services to assist her in creating the electronic filing system. He was a full head taller than her husband and many pounds besides. His glasses would occasionally slip to the end of his nose and it seemed not to bother him in the least, though Belle would often have the urge to push them back to his brow herself.

It had taken him a relatively short amount of time to design the program and graphics; but he spent weeks inputting the information of each book into the system. Belle was grateful that she had found a well qualified individual for such a daunting task, since it encouraged more visitors with its easy use.

Still, Belle preferred the old card catalog to the electronic one, and spent the better part of her afternoon searching for any record she could think of relating to the former residents of Enchanted Forest. When she found a book containing centuries of censuses taken, she was elated. The encounter Rumpel had described with the grandmother had occurred only one year before Regina had enacted the curse, but the last census taken in their former land had been five years previous to that. Belle scanned the names and ages of the residents to see if she could pinpoint any adult sons living with their mothers. Her investigation produced over two hundred pairs of names. She thought to narrow the list down to only those living nearest to Regina, which then dwindled the names to a mere fifty pairs. Satisfied that she had a list to present to Rumpel, she turned her attention to finding books about being a mother.

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

It had become a custom to leaf through the pages of the mysterious book held by the mayor's son. Henry read and reread every story so he would be able to know the former lives of the residents of Storybrook. This was how he had discovered that Archie, his psychologist, was really Jiminy Cricket, and that Miss Blanchard was Snow White, his grandmother. Over and over he had rightly discovered each person's true identity. His adoptive mother, Regina, did not know how he knew, but he knew all the same.

So on a day as ordinary as any other, Henry sat on his bed rifling through the stories known by most simply as fairytales. He smirked as he thought about the look of realization on Emma's face that everything he had told her about the townspeople had been true.

As he neared the end of the book, he saw a new page in his book that had not been there the last time he had looked. Drawn in great detail and vivid colors was a man entrapping a beautiful fairy. He recognized the Blue Fairy as Mother Superior, but was certain he had never seen the other people before in his life. Continuing to read the story in detail, Henry felt compassion for the sprite and contempt towards the detestable man who held her against her will. It seemed as though a spark of hope fell into place for the captive, until the boy read of the terrible plot by the evil queen, his adoptive mother.

"She's changed; I'm not giving up on her," he said to himself.

Though Henry truly did want Regina to be different, he feared that Emma, Snow and David were right. His heart sank as he continued reading the story, seeing that his adoptive mother had no boundaries when it came to evil and her desire to destroy Snow White.

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

Karl felt wretched about his deal with the queen but could not bring himself to confess the deed to his pregnant wife. After he returned home, he kept to himself, withholding his usual declarations through dinner. His wife was grateful for the quiet and certainly did not wish to engage the beast in conversation, while his mother just assumed he was pondering the upcoming financial strain a baby would place on them. To ease the burden of costs, as well as to spoil her first grandchild, Berta became more fervent in the kitchen, baking endlessly to sell her award winning pies and breads. She was able to save quite a bundle and spent some of her hard earned money on soft cloths and batting.

Karl looked on every evening as his wife and mother sewed and knitted blankets, booties, hats, dresses, bloomers, and diapers. Though he himself would have wished for a boy, he said nothing about all the pink and purple being stitched into every item. Loraleis and Berta chatted endlessly about what the child would look like and how to properly care for her while still keeping up with all the chores. The white fairy still had every intention of escaping after the birth of her child, but never carried on as if she had any plans other than staying by her mother-in-law's side.

Some months before, the dutiful daughter-in-law had gained permission of the older woman to plant some flowers close to the front of the house. Karl sat on the porch watching as Loraleis tore at the ground, uprooting grass and weeds alike. He had thought it could make her ill working so hard at preparing the soil, but his wife insisted, and he held his tongue. She planted dozens of tulips and took such care in their growth.

"These must be your favorite flower, hmmm?" asked Berta when the flowers were in full bloom.

"Tulips? Oh, not my favorite necessarily, although they have a calming effect on my people."

"Why is that?"

"Well, that's what fae babies sleep in," Loraleis answered whistfully. "Perhaps the smell was a great comfort to me in my infancy."

Giving a quizzical look, Berta scoffed, "You can't lay _my grandchild_ in a bed of flowers! She'll need a crib!"

Confused at the very thought of placing a fairy child in anything other than a tulip to sleep in, the younger woman cautiously restated, "But that's what all fairy babies sleep in."

Berta gave her daughter-in-law a skeptical look. After all, her small waist was expanding with predictable regularity; an indication the babe she carried would be human-sized and not tiny as the fae folk were want to be. She looked to her son for input, but as usual he was silent. "Karl, you need to get this baby a crib! A decent, sturdy crib. Why, no grandbaby of mine is going to sleep in a flower!"

"Ma, let her be. If the baby is supposed to sleep in a flower, well then, it is," he grumbled. Taking his lunch pouch and tools, he shuffled down the porch steps and left with no further words.

Nothing more was said about sleeping arrangements, but Berta secretly began storing extra money to purchase a crib the instant the young woman would come to her senses.

There were many fae wives' tales that Loraleis would recite over and over, wishing with all of her might to avoid any of the wicked beasts who could be born. She truly hoped for a fairy daughter, but knew that if she gave birth to a human, she could trust her kind mother-in-law to care for her.

Time passed and Loraleis grew round with the child she carried. It was tradition that in the last month of pregnancy, the mother would bestow three wishes to her daughter. She had already been thinking about what she would wish for. As she sat on the edge of her bed, she carefully held a little dust over her very round belly. Unbeknownst to her, her husband stood watching her from their door.

"My precious child," she began, "I wish your hair to be long and flowing. It will grow by the hour, having the strength of steel, and the softness of cashmere." With that, she released some of the dust as she encircled the swelling containing her child. She watched as her skin absorbed the magic and she felt a stirring from her babe.

"I grant you the gift of song and a voice so enchanting that you will have power with every note you sing." She watched again as the charms from the dust were absorbed.

"Last of all, I grant to you freedom to choose your own destiny. May you never be trapped by any man or beast. May you be lead by your own spirit to do your own will." Loraleis felt a strong leaping in her womb and knew that no matter what kind of child she gave birth to, the babe was free. She had grown to love the child, even knowing that there was a distinct possibility that she may have to leave her behind, and sadness overtook her at the thought of being separated. Curling into a ball, she sobbed into her pillow.

Karl had watched every moment, every wish, and every tear. In a moment of true understanding, he realized that his wife would never love him as he had never even tried to court her. Slowly and gently closing the door, so as to not disturb the beautiful woman on his bed, he retreated downstairs to sleep on the sofa. Though Karl would never admit what he did next to either friend or colleague, he took solace in the cushions and wept over the mistakes he had made.


	6. Payment Rendered

Sorry for the long wait in posting this chapter, it needed a great deal of work. Thank you, cynicsquest, for pushing me harder in developing my plot.

The song of inspiration for this chapter is "In My Arms" by Plumb. It is not my intention to steal her work, but some of her lines were too beautiful to change. I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6: **Payment Rendered**

Sidney appeared in the mirror just as Regina began putting on her lipstick, causing her to smudge a little on her bottom lip.

"You look as beautiful as the day I met you," the genie remarked. Though she had used him to murder her husband, and had refused to be with him as his lover, he still longed for her.

Regina hated when his reflection appeared in her mirror, but rather liked the advantage she had in being able to use a man without having to give anything in return. "Why are you disturbing me right now?"

"I have news of the baby you want," he crooked a smile satisfied that he could provide information to the woman he loved.

"The fairy?" The evil queen paused briefly before removing the small wand laced with black mascara and touching up her lashes.

"You said to let you know when the mother was going to give birth. She's been in labor now for several hours."

A small, devilish smile crept across the beautiful sorceress's face. "Wonderful!" She had devised such a delightfully wicked plan and soon the heart of fairy would be in her hands. "Let me know the moment it is born."

No matter how evil this woman was or how cold she was towards him, Sidney wished only to please her. "Yes, your majesty, my love," he called out as his face disappeared from the looking glass.

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

A peaceful sleep had kept the expectant fairy in bed, but the light of the new day had brought her out of rest and into a dull pain. She began her chores as any other day, but as time passed, the ache gradually grew stronger. Several times that morning she had to lower herself against a wall as she practiced the slow breathing exercises her mother-in-law had coached her in. Her labor had begun.

Berta took on the extra load of the chores around the house, but found that she had never been this agile before in tending to her work. Each of the animals were fed, and it mattered not that their food was strewn about or the water sloshed all around. The weeds had been quickly pulled and discarded in a heap. Many of the vegetables were ready for harvest, but the older woman decided putting it off a couple more days wouldn't hurt. Inside the cottage, she found her son's laundry in the sitting room instead of being in his room as usual, and surmised that he had spent the night on the couch. She finished the day's tasks and turned her attention to the blankets and clothes she and Loraleis had spent the past few months making. Humming her favorite lullaby in excitement, she gathered extra cloths and supplies that would be needed for berthing.

Throughout the day, the fairy ventured less and less from her bed, and stole as many small naps as she could in between contractions. She was aware of Berta coming in and out to check on her, being offered a simple sandwich and the smell of it turning her queasy, although normally she craved the fresh meat and tomatoes. The pain in her hips and back grew in intensity, the room felt warmer as sweat accumulated on her brow, and she wished she had the tourga herb from the fairy realm to smell, which would have acted as a sedative.

By the time her husband arrived home from work in the late evening, she was close to delivering the baby. Karl noted that a plate of cold food had been left for him on the table, the only indication that anyone had thought of what he might need that evening. He watched Berta flit about the fireplace as she hung a pot of water over the flames to heat, issuing orders to him to eat his supper and then take a few more candles into the bedroom as darkness was quickly falling. Berta was in and out of the room with hot, wet dish cloths, needle and thread, and the blankets the pair had stitched. After wolfing down his supper of bread, cheese and cold pork, he gathered as many candles as he could carry in two hands and slipped carefully into the room he shared with his fairy wife.

Loraleis was lying the bed they shared, looking as miserable as he'd ever seen her. Berta had settled on the edge of the bed, using a cool, damp cloth to wipe the sweat off of the young fairy's brow. Wild eyed, Loraleis panted, exhausted as her contractions now seemed to come in continuous waves. A worried crown creased her delicate features as the need to push the child out overcame her and she grabbed Berta's hands frantically.

"Karl, hold her hands. Her grip is tight!" Berta instructed her son as she repositioned herself at the foot of the bed, ready to bring her grandchild into the world.

"I've got her," he said, hastily moving to take his mother's place at the young woman's side.

Uncharacteristically, Loraleis accepted Karl's hand in a vice-like grip as the urgency to push came over her. Pulling her shoulders up and her knees back, the exhausted fairy keened in pain, concentrating her efforts to free the child from her body.

"Push, my dear," Berta ordered. "And breathe; remember to breathe." She patted the girl's legs comfortingly when Loraleis began taking several deep breaths through her nose and releasing them through her mouth in slow huffs. The reprieve lasted only a few seconds before her muscles began contracting again, her body pressuring her to complete the task of delivery.

"That's it. Now push, push!"

Holding her breath, the young mother silently bore down, expelling the infant from her body. Falling back exhausted onto her bed, she turned her head and watched as Berta quickly wiped the babe's face and gave her a light pat on the buttocks. The tiny girl gasped as air filled her lungs for the first time and at the chill in the room that gave a quite different atmosphere than the comfortable warmth of her mother's womb. The proud grandmother finished cleaning the child after clamping the umbilical cord, and she quickly swaddled the tiny babe in a soft, yellow blanket. She placed the precious child in her mother's arms and beamed at the couple who had created such a fine little girl.

"I'd say she weighs close to 7 or 8 pounds. She's very healthy, I think!"

Loraleis carefully inspected her child, noting the soft, pink texture of her skin and mass of blond curls atop her head. She had no birthmarks, and every finger and toe was accounted for. She brushed the side of her daughter's cheek with her finger and the young girl's eyes opened, wide and full. The fairy had hoped that she would give birth to another fairy, but the child in her arms was a different creature. Though Loraleis wanted her freedom, she was too enraptured with the babe in her arms and she knew she could never leave her, fae or not.

Softly, the new mother began to sing to the child nursing at her breast.

_Your eyes of green, and skin of light pink_

_Your tossled hair, blond and full of curl_

_You've captured me, my heart is for you_

_All I can do is to hold you tight_

_And I'll keep you close by_

_I will never leave your side_

_You'll always be safe in my arms_

_Story books of fairy tales_

_Full of Kings and Queens and fairies in flight_

_Dragons and noble knights_

_I'll champion for you_

_And I'll keep you close by_

_I will never leave your side_

_You'll always be safe in my arms_

_My heart is torn wanting freedom_

_But wanting you so much more_

_I pray that your dreams will come true_

_Never alone for I will always, I'll always love you_

_And I'll keep you close by _

_I will never leave your side_

_You'll always be safe in my arms_

_You're safe in my arms_

Scarcely had the sweet woman finished her song, when the sound of an entourage announced visitors below. Alarmed, Karl went to the door way to look down the stairs to the front door. He froze in terror and the color drained from his face as soldiers forced their way through the door followed by the evil queen.

"No! Get out of here," he cried, confusing his wife and mother and causing his daughter to cry.

"Silence!" the queen hissed. "I've come to collect my fairy." Regina ascended the stairs.

Karl attempted to block the door but was cast aside by two guards. He quickly rose back to his feet and threw himself across the bed in an attempt to protect his newborn.

Smirking at the peasant's feeble attempt, Regina spat, "A deal is a deal, pest."

The distraught grandmother tried to move in closer to her daughter-in-law to offer her own protection, but the guards quickly restrained her.

From the bedside, Karl began pleading. "Please, don't take her, your Majesty. Turn me into a rodent, or a bug, or just kill me, but please don't take my daughter."

Upon hearing such an atrocious thought, Loraleis clutched the child closer to her and attempted to slip over the side of the bed to find a hiding place. Regina laughed as she thrust her hands forward to immobilize the fleeing fairy.

Stepping past the hulking peasant looking incredulously at his wife's paralyzed body, Regina sneered, "We had an agreement: all the rapunzels you wanted in exchange for the child born to your wife. The matter is settled and I will have that child."

Unable to break free of the tight grips on her arms from the soldiers, Berta shrieked in dismay. As a poor, lowly widow in the kingdom, the old woman knew her place was to never speak against or mock royalty. Yet this devil of a woman was kidnapping her son's offspring and she simply would hold her tongue no longer. "Shame on you, you wicked, vile woman!"

The wicked sorceress turned to the old woman, seething. "Vile? You dare address your queen as _vile_?" A look of panic laid hold of Berta's face and she cringed against her strong captors, terrified.

Karl maneuvered to his knees and began begging and sobbing. Loraleis was filled with terror and tears streamed from her face as Regina effortlessly pried the child from her arms.

The evil queen closely examined the child in her arms, before demanding an explanation. "This baby is rather large for a fairy, isn't it?"

Though Loraleis was bound in place, her thoughts were racing. _Fairy baby? Why would she want a fairy baby? _If only she had even a trace of pixie dust on the tips of her fingers, she could break free and trade herself if necessary for her precious baby. After all, she had just promised the little one she would be safe in her arms, but was failing in the first moment of a threat.

Regina had been learning about fairies and their magic since she had first begun practicing the dark magic with Rumpelstiltskin. She knew how their magic worked, of their sordid history, and which organs when harvested were most beneficial to magic users. Tales had been told of half-fairies but she had assumed that those creatures now only reproduced among themselves and that fairies strictly produced other fairies. Certainly the heavenly creature struggling to break free of her spell had followed the protocols to produce another of her kind. Satisfied that she had successfully ensnared the pawn in her scheme, the soldiers escorted her holding the babe out of the cottage and back into her black carriage.

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

For Henry's sake, she was trying, with great difficulty, to change into a woman with more integrity. This was proving to be a far greater challenge than any she had faced before. How could salt water become fresh or bitter become sweet? In her quest to change, she had been confronted numerous times with the consequences of her previous actions, even losing her son to his birth mother. Most days, she was tempted to give up and just be the evil queen she knew she was, a queen with power and respect. However, the tugging on her heart for her son was deeper than any love she had ever felt for anyone before. When she first received Henry, she had the selfish motive to satisfy her own desire for innocent companionship. But as her son grew and developed his own personality, she found that she had fallen in love with him more each day. Her selfishness had been replaced with an unconditional love. It was a love that felt mightier than all the power she ever held as queen.

So when Henry informed his mother that they needed to talk, she was filled both with a longing to comply as well as with great apprehension. Regina arrived early at Granny's and had already placed an order for hot chocolate sprinkled with cinnamon to be served at Henry's arrival.

The polished family diner had become a neutral meeting ground for many of the quarrels and rendezvous that took place in Storybrook. The employees, however, hadn't always been neutral towards Regina. Granny, the fiery owner, had never quite trusted the mayor and had always been willing to share her own two cents about anything she overheard. Her granddaughter, Ruby, had also been curt with the powerful woman who was responsible for cursing the entire town. On more than one occasion, Ruby had loosened the caps of the salt or ketchup on the former mayor's table, let Regina's food get cold before serving her, or delayed putting in her order solely to make her late for appointments. After befriending Emma, her son's birthmother, however, the owner and granddaughter had relaxed a little, knowing that Emma was a powerful match against the evil mayor.

It was a quarter until 8 in the morning, and Regina began to think her son had decided to skip their meeting and head straight to school. She focused her eyes out the window to watch for any signs of the boy. She noticed a young couple arguing as they were getting into their car and another older couple walking past them hand-in-hand smiling in remembrance of their own past disagreements and amendments. Several groups of children in school uniforms hurried by on their way to school, joining in the frenzied pre-eight o'clock rush to open shops and businesses. Archie, lead by his faithful Dalmatian, Pongo, walked briskly past the window, smiling in a friendly acknowledgment to her on his way to his office.

So lost in thought was she, that she hadn't noticed Henry enter through the door or walk towards her. He startled her when he took his seat. "Henry! How are you, sweetie? Aren't you going to be late for school?" It was obvious from the protrusions coming out underneath his cap that he was in need of a haircut, but she bit back asking as Henry might surmise that she was implying neglect of basic hygiene in his new home. Her son, though, didn't notice, but launched right into his favorite obsession.

"I found a new story in my book," he said as he pushed the beverage out of his way. He was certainly tempted by it, but hated to feel bought by adults, and thus rejected the sweet treat.

Sighing with slight frustration from the rejection, she replied, "I thought you'd like the hot chocolate. It has cinnamon, just the way you like it."

"The way my _mom_ and I like it," he reminded her as he continued to ignore the dessert.

"Fine," she resolved, as she folded her hands and sat up a little straighter.

Henry opened his leather bound book containing centuries of stories from another world, one with magic, honor, and tragedy. His birth mother had been the culmination of true love, while his adoptive mother had been the villain of all villains. She had murdered her own husband, learned dark magic, ripped out hearts, and sought to destroy by any means necessary the boy's grandmother. Henry knew of her dark past, but he was in shock over her callousness towards the baby drawn on the pages in his book. These were not merely fairy tales told to children at bedtime. These stories were real and revealed the true histories of its subjects.

Regina slowly turned each page silently, gingerly touching the picture of the small child. She thought back to the night she had first made that particular deal. She had seen an easy way to acquire a fairy heart without it costing her anything more than a vegetable she herself didn't care for. There were a number of spells that utilized the organs of magical creatures, where human hearts were inadequate. She hadn't thought about it in a very long time, and it was both disconcerting and inconvenient for Henry to have found this rather sordid little story now when when she was trying to put such dealings behind her.

Truth be told, as a practitioner of her particular brand of dark magic, Regina had picked up the rather nasty habit of amassing hearts for various reasons. Some hearts she collected, as her mother had, to control politicians, spies and henchmen whose loyalty she required to keep her power without opposition. Other hearts were simply kept on hand as ingredients for various spells and potions, and she acquired the hearts of magical creatures whenever an opportunity presented itself. Mermaids had the ability to traverse through all of the realms, so their hearts could strengthen portals opened by realm jumpers. The hearts of Sirens, who had the power to lure men to their deaths by shifting into the forms of lovers, were useful for disappearing spells and black magic. The horns and hearts of unicorns had healing properties, and an Ogre's heart could be used to form a foul smelling cloud to provide cover for soldiers on the battlefield. Elves were magic through and through, yet a shield of protection formed around the vital organs whenever they died by any means that weren't natural. An elf could still bleed to death, but by the time the shield released, the heart had turned to useless ash.

A fairy heart, on the other hand, contained high levels of magic dust, exceeding even the amount harvested by the dwarves Reul Ghorm had created, and this characteristic made them useful in any number of ways. The fae had been the original inhabitants of their realm millennia before humans had tumbled into their world through the efforts of realm jumpers from other places, and their bodies consisted of the original elements from the creation of their world. Not only did their hearts contain the precious dust, but all of their organs were so saturated with that magic was as natural to them as breathing, requiring neither spells nor alchemy to accomplish miracles, merely wands made of crystals to focus their power into a single direction. Even if their bodies were cremated, their ashes were powerful enough to be useful in any potion imaginable.

_Revenge._ It had been her sole desire to rid herself of the pesky girl who had cost her true love. The plan she had for Snow White and Prince Charming had consumed her.

"Henry, I..." Swallowing hard, she drew in a deep breath and slowly released it. "I was a different person then, sweetie."

The growing boy was learning that holding someone's past over them when they were trying so hard to change wouldn't help. But he felt as though some justice needed to come about for the family who had been hurt in the wake of Regina's vengeance. "Have you fixed it yet?"

"Fixed _it_?"

Sighing in frustration that he hadn't been understood without an explanation, he gritted, "Fixed their _family_; fixed _her_. Have you fixed it yet?"

Furrowing her brow, she thought about the residents of Storybrook, trying to call to mind the faces in the room on the evening she had carried out her transaction. "Henry, I can't fix this one."

"You have to, Mom. You have to fix it."

"I don't know where the family is." Regina looked deep into the eyes of her child, seeing eagerness and determination. Thinking about the potions hidden beneath her father's tomb, she tentatively suggested, "But I may be able to fix the girl."

"Great." Her son had already risen from his seat and was putting the book back into his bag. "I have to go to school now. Promise you won't forget to fix her?"

Regina promised and rose to hug her son. Holding him close to her was one of the few precious moments she had these days and she tried to linger in the affection as long as possible. When Henry broke free of her arms and dashed through the door, she examined the abandoned chocolate. Pulling out a few dollars and setting them next to the condensation covered glass, she looked to Ruby who had observed the entire scene. "What are you looking at?" she snapped and then strode out the door with all the confidence of the mayor and evil queen the townspeople knew. She headed to her office to pick up the set of keys she hadn't needed to use since before the spell broke. She knew right where she had left the little statue, and she was determined to make it right for Henry's sake.

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

Belle crossed the town to the town hall, where efforts were being made to reunite lost family members after the curse. She checked in with Archie once again to see if anything had turned up regarding the child's missing parents.

"Well, it's only been a few hours and no one has reported missing a female toddler." The red haired man had genuine concern over each case, and had spent the morning asking around town about anyone missing a child around 2 or 3 years old.

Ruby had also put a few hours into the search effort earlier as soon as she got off work at Granny's. In the Enchanted Forest, the long-legged vixen had been a ravenous wolf. Since the curse was lifted she had already regained her power of following a strong scent. At first, she had been apprehensive about using her ability, fearing that she could endanger her friends. But after aiding in searches for lost children, she had been more receptive to its use. She decided to offer her unique help to the kind-hearted Belle, even though she still had fear of Belle's husband. "If I can smell the girl, I may be able to find her parents," she suggested.

Belle considered this for a moment before replying, "Well, I don't know how much of a smell she puts off. Right now, she is a statue. Rumpel said she is under a curse that only her mother can break."

"Well, we should form some kind of search party anyway. I know some friends who would be very willing to help reunite this little girl with her parents."

Belle consented and agreed to meet the search party in one hour at her home. Ruby arrived earlier than expected with Mary Margaret, Emma, and Ashley, each woman motivated to aid in the search. Having been separated from her own daughter just minutes after delivery, Mary Margaret understood the anguish of arms emptied too soon and the fear of your child facing the unknown without you. Ashley had been tricked into trading her own daughter off to Rumpelstiltskin in exchange for a night of dancing. Only Emma's intervention had save her from losing her own child. Having thought for the majority of her life that she had been unwanted and abandoned, Emma had a passion for orphans and missing children. She was still sorting out the reality of another realm with magic and evil curses, but she wrestled with the pain of having grown up without her mother and father despite knowing that it was never their desire to abandon her.

Belle was humbled and encouraged by her friends willingness to help her. "Thank you all so much for wanting to help. The child is upstairs in the nursery." She then led them to the room she had spent the previous day making ready.

"Belle, are you expecting?" Mary Margaret gasped as she took in the furnishings. She was already admiring the decor and choice of colors. A tittering excitement ensued over the small group of women until a slightly embarrassed Belle explained that she was not pregnant. Mary Margaret observed the sturdy bed, realizing that it not a crib. "Oh, you plan to adopt," she stated matter of factly.

Emma narrowed her eyes as she tried to discern Belle's motives for creating a nursery, but decided not to ask. The lady of the house then explained the little bit of information Rumpel had told her and all she had learned from the library. "I want to find her parents, whoever they are. Regina had taken the child at birth and I'm sure her mother misses her a great deal."

Ruby picked up the child and took in a few good sniffs before gently setting her back down. "You are right about there not being a scent. I won't be able to track her that way."

The group then discussed the best way to find Rapunzel's parents, and each woman lent a skill in the endeavor. As a former bails bond person, Emma had the most experience in locating missing persons, so she'd put those skills to good use. Ruby had worked with her in the past and would use all of the resources at the sheriff's office, as well as the new data base, to assist her. Perhaps it would be a similar case to finding the father of Hansel and Gretel. Mary Margaret would work with Archie in canvassing the residents about the mysterious couple who had not yet claimed their daughter. Belle would continue to search the library for clues about in the historical documents from Enchanted Forest as well as consult Regina for more information, even though she knew her husband would not be thrilled with _that_ prospect. Ashley felt that consulting Mother Superior might reveal more insight as to why Regina would have wanted the child in the first place, so she volunteered to get what knowledge she could from the oldest and most powerful fairy in their world.


	7. The Grieving Mother

**I apologize to those of you have been waiting for the delay in finishing this chapter. I hope that it will feel worthy of your patience.**

**The names of the characters were taken from the movie Ever After. **

* * *

Chapter 7: The Grieving Mother

In the darkness of her castle, Regina held the crying newborn. She remembered a time when she was about ten years old and one of her mother's friends had come over to their house to show off her new baby. Wondering what all of the excitement was about, she had crept up behind the women who were too distracted by the infant to see her sneaking in. She had just gotten close enough to smell the mixture of lavender, powder, and new skin when her mother scolded her. The mother of the child was gracious though and asked if Regina wanted to hold her.

"Oh, yes, please," she sighed with eyes that lit up at the prospect. The sleeping baby was placed in her arms and she took great care to be as gentle as possible. When the little one realized she was no longer in her mother's arms, she began to scream startling her holder.

"There, there," the mother cooed to her daughter as she drew her up and back into her arms.

Fright claimed Regina's spirit and she ran out of the room crying. After the guests left, her mother scolded her again and punished her by having to go to bed without dinner. The poor girl had never understood what she had actually done wrong, but decided she never wanted to be near a baby again, especially if it cried.

The cries of the infant pierced her thoughts and began to grate on her nerves. "Shh," she hissed at the fairy's daughter. "Be quiet. I don't like crying babies." Although the infant certainly couldn't understand the words spoken to her, the girl calmed down rather quickly upon hearing the woman's husky voice. "That's better," Regina said through a terse smile. Walking to her chamber of hearts, she perused the boxes and selected one from the left side, fifth column over, eleventh row down. She pulled the organ from its container and gave it a gentle squeeze before placing it back inside. She turned expecting to see results, but instead peered into an empty room. Huffing, she picked the heart back up and gripped it more firmly, slightly digging her fingers in.

"Yes, your majesty," came the pained, shrill voice of a frumpy maid from behind her.

"I expect you to come the first time I call for you," the evil queen hissed to her servant.

The middle-aged woman knew better than to attempt pleading her case to the queen. She had been elbow deep in dishes from that night's supper and the suds were still dripping from her arms and hands. "Yes, ma'am," she stated quickly not wishing to even think of the consequence of disobedience dispensed by her mistress, for Wanda had seen other maids come to the queen's chamber and never come out again.

"You have a new job. Here, take this," the evil queen said dropping the infant into the arms of the harried woman. Letting out a sigh, she added, "hold her still and keep her quiet."

The queen glided across the room to the table beside her full-length mirror. The maid-turned-nurse thought she caught a glimpse of a man's face peering through the glass, but it seemed to have vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Rustling through the containers on top of the ornate golden table, Regina scanned the contents looking for the deep sapphire colored liquid she had mixed months earlier.

The nurse, though aware of the sorceress's presence, was enchanted by the large eyes staring back at her and she began snuggling her nose against the newborn's cheek. Distractedly, she asked aloud, "What's your name, precious child?"

Hating to be interrupted, the dark witch disdainfully looked back contorting her lips in her exasperation. "Excuse me?"

Remembering her place, Wanda quickly broke free of the spell the babe seemed to have over her, but she thought it best she at least know what to call the young girl now placed in her charge. "Beggin' your pardon, your majesty, but," she stammered, "what is the child's name?"

Regina smiled grimly as she thought of a suitable name. "Rapunzel." Turning her back on the maid, the queen continued to rummage through the various colored bottles on the table, looking for a very particular spell.

"Rapunzel, milady?" The gentile woman grimaced at the miserable name but gently rocked the baby, soothing her by stroking her tiny back. Regina answered by slamming a vial down on the bureau top. "Oh," Wanda replied as she decided it would be better to mind her own business. After all, who was she to question the Evil Queen on such matters? Seeing her mistress distracted with her potions, she quietly retreated to the back of the bedroom as far away from harms way as possible.

The sorceress had plans for the fae she had acquired; plans that required a certain amount of time to harvest the necessary ingredients. She had been preparing a very special spell ever since the deal she had made with the lout of a father had dropped the child in her lap. It took fifteen months for the fae people to reach maturity, the point at which their hearts instantly changed to pure, crystallized pixie dust and their bodies were full-grown. She had found a curse. The fact that she was now engaged in a civil war with her wretched stepdaughter needed to be considered; the steady losses she was sustaining had, in effect, put Regina in a time crunch. She had a small window of time in which to finalize all the details so as to utterly destroy the true love between Snow White and her precious Prince Charming.

The evil queen had already attempted a sleeping curse on her nemesis, but the kiss of her true love had broken it in only a matter of days. Furious at this failure, Regina began searching for a new spell and found one designed to keep the two love birds always together yet forever apart. One obscure parchment contained a delicious new abomination which caused one lover to exist as a hawk by day, and the other as a wolf by night. The spell was not simple, however: the incantation was to be cast during and eclipse, and therefore, could only be broken during another eclipse. As fortune would have it, an eclipse would occur in a few short months, and it would be years before another happened. The only thing she needed was the heart of a fairy, the essential ingredient. This was, of course, easier said than done. The fae were the only indigenous people group of the Enchanted World and, as such, had a mystical connection with the innate magic existing in the realm. Once fully developed, she would be able to take the heart of her captive fairy who would not be able to elude her as others had.

The spell she searched for now would cause the baby to grow to full maturity quickly. Though she would have preferred instantaneous results, doing so would allow the child to appear full-grown on the outside, but inwardly her organs would not have sufficient time to mature, and more importantly, for her heart to crystallize. She would just have to exercise some patience to achieve her goal.

Finding what she had been looking for, she impatiently beckoned the nervous nursemaid over to her. Tenderly, she took the sleeping baby into her own arms and carefully spilled the blue, iridescent contents of the small bottle onto her small head. Gently she rubbed the potion onto the warm scalp and crooned almost maternally, "This spell should have you ready in three months. Then I'll have all that I need." Satisfied with her wicked plan to force the child to grow at such an alarming rate, she transferred the child back into the servant's arms. As the woman began softly clucking at the infant, Regina grabbed her upper arm and fixed her cold, cobalt eyes to hers. "You are to look after this _fairy_ for the next three months. Once a week, you are to send a report of her progress to me, her rate of growth. If I'm away from the palace, just say what you need to say into a mirror. You may have anything you need to care for her; I trust it isn't much. I want to make one thing perfectly clear: I don't want to see her, or hear her, until I'm ready. Do you understand?"

"Yes, your majesty," the woman croaked fearfully, clutching the helpless child protectively.

"Then why are you still here?" the detestable witch sneered.

The nurse turned and ran out of the room as fast as her chubby legs would carry her, hearing the wicked laughter of her mistress echo against the cold stone walls. She ran to the farthest end of the castle, past the commotion of guards and trembling maids, busy finishing the day's tasks lest their queen be angry with them in the morning. Hurrying to her own chambers, she barred the door behind her and gasped for air before turning her attention to baby who was beginning to fuss, a few hours old and in need of nourishment.

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

The little cottage in the woods was dark, save for a single log fire, built only in a feeble attempt to drive the chill from the gloomy bedroom. Karl paced the floor, wearing a spot in the rug beside the window, fixed only on the thought of having made such a horrific deal with such a horrible woman. _Fool! How could I have given up my own baby over such a stupid craving? Why did I even mention that my wife was a fairy? Why, why? _

Berta sat on the edge of the bed holding the hand of the young mother who was still paralyzed in place, her dark eyes boring a hole into the floorboards and consumed with the tragedy that had just befallen her small family. _Deal? Oh, my poor, foolish son. I should have planted the rapunzels myself. Poor Loraleis; poor granddaughter. Who will protect my sweet, precious grandbaby? Who, who?_

It had taken several minutes for the paralysis to leave the fairy's body, but it took the rest of the night for the shock to wear off. When movement returned to her limbs, she wrenched herself from the hated bed of her daughter's conception – of her infant's abduction – and collapsing to the floor, the new mother sobbed as her mother-in-law knelt to the floor and wrapped her in her arms. _Why? Why would fate force me into this marriage and then rob me of my child? Where is my baby, she was just here in my arms? Why would anyone want a fairy infant or any newborn for that matter? Why, why?_

Karl ceased pacing and took a seat on the opposite side of the bed, wishing only that he could flee from his grieving wife, but knowing that now was not the time to leave the room. Her tears would turn to questions and then wrath, and he knew he deserved everything she would throw at him, and that he would take it.

Berta reached her hand out for a towel, dipped it in the bowl of water sitting beside the bed, and wrung out the excess water. She touched it to the forehead of her daughter-in-law whose sobs had now turned to stone cold silence.

"I'd like to be alone now, please," came the weak plea of the exhausted and bereaved mother.

Karl's legs reacted faster than his mind as he stood up, relieved to be allowed to flee from the room. Pausing in the door way, he mustered the strength to utter, "Loraleis, I... I'm sorry. I made a foolish decision; one I cannot undo." His feeble apology hung in the air, resonating in the mind of his wife and mother. With sagging shoulders and a lowered head, he sauntered down the stairs and took up his bed on the sofa.

Berta gave her daughter-in-law's shoulder a gentle squeeze and kissed her temple before rising off the floor to leave the room, gently closing the door behind her. Seconds ticked by as Loraleis stared numbly into the macabre shadows cast by the cheerless fire in the hearth. Slowly, she turned her head, searching the room until her eyes fell on a soft, pink blanket knocked on the floor when the witch had taken her child. Gingerly picking it up, she caressed the soft fabric for a moment before cradling it tenderly to her breasts in her empty arms, shaking her head back and forth slightly as tears spilled down her cold cheeks.

For the span of a half-hour she rocked, comforting the empty blanket until her tears were spent and dried into tiny crystals on her face. Pressing a kiss on the blanket, she tucked it in to her nightgown and stiffly rose from the floor. Wiping the dried crystals from her face, she rubbed them in her hands to warm them and then sprinkled them over her slight form. With a faint burst of light, she slowly shrank back to the size of her natural form. Dejectedly, she flew through the open window of her room down to the tulip bed in the front of her house; the sweet smell of the flowers her daughter would never sleep in brought her little comfort, but she curled her knees to her chest and rested inside the tulips. A gentle breeze rocked her back and forth and she quietly sang the melody she had written for her baby.

_Your eyes of green, and skin of light pink_

_Your tossled hair, blond and full of curl_

_You've captured me, my heart is for you_

_All I can do is to hold you tight..._

A new source of tears flowed in both anguish and grief while her spirit cried out.

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

Rumpelstiltskin had learned over the centuries how to use the _gift_ he had acquired from The Seer. Long before _she_ was born, he used this ability to foresee how and when to push Regina into joining him to enact the curse which would bring him to the World Without Magic where his son, Baelfire was.

The time had finally come to enact a vision he had some eighteen years ago when a childless couple, Auguste de Barbarac and his wife Nicole de Lancret, pleaded with him to help them conceive a child. The mother died shortly after the birth of their daughter, Ella, and Rumpelstiltskin arranged the subsequent marriage to the Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent. After the untimely death of the wealthy landowner, the stepmother would treat the young girl as a servant to herself and her daughters. The vision revealed that Ella would need his help to attend the ball where she would catch the eye of Prince Thomas. Drawing his connection to a need to be imprisoned in order to leave a message for the savior of his curse, he decided the payment would be one that would ensure his captivity. He would wait, of course, until her wedding night to reveal the payment required of her. For now, he simply needed to procure a horse-drawn carriage and gown suitable for a royal engagement.

He had scarcely waved her off when another vision came. _Regina, furious with not having what she desired, turned a small child to stone. Having learned that a fairy was vulnerable and slower after giving birth, she marked another target, only to find Rheul Ghorm and a spirited fae army protecting their own. The Fairy Queen presenting the last piece of enchanted wood to a carver to provide safe passage for the savior. _The evil queen had been resistant to his plan, thinking only of her revenge on Snow White. A punishment, he thought, for hurting a child. He would strip Regina of the ability to use magic or concoct potions until she bent to his will for the curse.

The Dark One vanished from the courtyard where Ella left minutes ago. He reappeared in his laboratory, among his spell books, concoctions, and various components he had acquired from his deals. Though he knew his last vision revealed to him the very reason Regina would finally go along with his curse, he was disturbed by what would become of the child and her family. He knew the witch had used children before and had never concerned herself with their welfare. This is where Rump was so different from his former student; he never wanted to see a child hurt. From time to time, he would make arrangements for children who came from selfish, wicked parents to go to more well-meaning homes.

He probed his thoughts, hoping to conjure a new vision, specifically about the child turned to stone. His mind took him to a time nearly three decades from now where a woman sat with her back to him crouching before the statue, kissing her and restoring her to life. "Mommy!" exclaimed the child, just before his vision dashed him forward to reveal Prince Alexander rescuing the girl from Ursula, queen of the Sirens and goddess of the merpeople. Unclear about the exact length in time from his vision, he at least had the certainty that the girl would be released from the curse she was under by her mother and later rescued from danger by King Francis' youngest son. Though an alliance would be unlikely considering his requirement of Ella, in the long run it would prove beneficial.

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXX

Few words were spoken in the forest cabin in the weeks that followed the loss of the baby. Karl did what he could to stay out of the way of his grieving wife. He took extra work when it was offered and harvested the garden when it wasn't. Feeling the shame of having made such an arrangement and the remorse over losing his only child, he turned to drinking to numb the growing pain within him. At first the nights down at the tavern were few, but it didn't take long for the woodsman to become a regular. His wife wouldn't even look at him and in the few glimpses he had of her he only saw despondency. Berta seemed understanding the first few nights he had stayed out, but she began to voice her concern when the overpowering smell of the liquor, the slur of his words, and the clamor he made from the kitchen to the couch disturbed the slumber in the house.

Loraleis stayed in bed for the majority of her days, her mother-in-law tending to her and at times force feeding her a few bites of food. The fairy had already sunk into the dark world of depression with no hope to latch onto in sight. She had memorized the details of that night, from the callousness of the queen who had ripped her newborn daughter from her arms to the smell of the magic the witch had used. The fact that she could not, in fact, get her daughter back had been clear from the beginning, but a new revelation began to form in the mind of the young woman: _her people were in danger_. The queen had mistakenly thought she was taking a fae child, and her wickedness suggested her intentions were not maternal in nature but rather to use the baby for dark magic. Her mistake, however, was that the child she had taken was not a fairy at all, but a siren. The queen would learn of her error soon enough, but Loraleis doubted her baby would be returned to her. Instead she had the gnawing feeling that Regina would try again to obtain a full blooded fairy. This thought exchanged the dark depression she had been under for a fierce determination. She had accumulated the right amount of fairy dust to open the box containing her handkerchief. For now she would wait for an opportunity to leave the home of the man who had kidnapped her; she would return to her people and warn them of the queen.


End file.
